The living room of the new residence of Danish Ambassador Poul O.G. Hoiness is an exhibition hall of Danish furniture.

/ Korea Times Photos by Kim Se-jeong

By Kim Se-jeong
Staff Reporter

In the 50th year of diplomatic relations between Denmark and Korea, Danish Ambassador Poul O.G. Hoiness has received a big present: a brand new, big residence to live in.

After moving out of an old residence in Itaewon, Ambassador Hoiness and his four family members moved into a four-story residence in upscale Seongbuk-dong two months ago.

Last Monday, Hoiness opened his house to guests.

It was purchased and renovated over the past year, and "the ambassador was involved in the interior design," wife Annette Hee said.

She said the space is the first thing to notice for a relatively big Danish family. The Hoinesses have three children.

The building is built into the side of a mountain in Seongbuk-dong, and the back of the house is completely surrounded by nature. The master bedroom has a window wall that captures a panoramic view of Seoul and further down to the south of Han River, when the weather is good, the wife said.

A deceiving built-in closet is actually a door to a bathroom and a private workout space. A television is attached to the ceiling, and descends with a motion controller.

The living room is a small exhibition hall of Danish furniture. Three different sets of tables and chairs were scattered throughout the room and all are made in Denmark.

About one particular chair downstairs, Hoiness said, "I had to fight," to be able to purchase it.

Ambassador Hoiness said the new residence is a big investment for the Danish government, and indicates the priority shown to Korea. In his estimation, the new residence could well be ranked in the top five Danish residences around the world in terms of price.

With the space and a nice presentation, he wished the residence had been available a year ago when the Danish princess was in Korea on a state visit.

"I'd much prefer to do it (receiving the Queen) here," the ambassador said in retrospect.

The new residence has also adopted a green element.

All light bulbs in the house are light-emitting diodes, and the ambassador anticipated they would reduce the electricity bill by 90 percent, compared to the one from the old residence.

"It also goes in line with the climate change conference in Copenhagen," which will take place late this year.

The housewarming party featured Danish jazz music, which he would like to promote this year as part of the 50th anniversary celebration.

As a jazz musician himself, who has been around it since he was a teenager, Hoiness had helped nearly 15 Danish musicians to come and play at the Hi Seoul Festival that closed two weeks ago.

The groups will come back in the fall to participate in a jazz festival in Jara Island, which the embassy will support.

The Scandinavian country signed a diplomatic accord with Korea in 1959, along with two other neighbors, Sweden and Norway.

Trace of exchanges were found a few years before that. During the 1950-53 Korean War, Denmark together with two neighboring countries deployed a medical ship, which later served as the foundation of a hospital in Seoul, what is now called the National Medical Center.

The medical center opened a museum earlier this year in commemoration of Sweden, Denmark and Norway, making what could have been unknown history be told.

Aside from the musical approach, the embassy will be involved in hosting two conferences later in the year, inviting Danish scholars as guest speakers. One is on lifelong learning, and another on corporate social responsibility.